Hello guys,

 

I would like to get permanent residency here but I don't want to work anymore for a company in Thailand after 8 years doing it. 

 

As I have the cash (more than 10 million) can I get the Thai PR via investment without being employed in a local company? What's the procedure?

 

Thanks

Edited December 7, 20196 yr by Lacrimas

Yes, you can. The demanded amount for getting PR by investment is 10 million baht. After that the investment must have been a minimum of 3 years in the country to be able to be granted a permanent receidency based on investment.

Brave man this OP, or he doesn't know Thailand, or he has over 10 million Baht to waste.  

This used to exist after 97 but I think it was 40 mil then.. I know someone who did it back then. 

I thought the 10 mil was just a non imm O investor visa, not PR. Can anyone elaborate. 

If I bring the 10 mil in, what do I have to do with it, can I used it, buy bonds or investment products, etc etc.. Would really like to know the fine detail on this. 

You can apply under the investment category but you still need to have been working and paying sufficient tax for 3 full tax years, with the same conditions as applying under the employment category. Therefore it is a pointless category.

 

That is why you won't find many (any?) reports of successful applications under investment despite various law firm websites claiming that it is possible.

16 minutes ago, Pilotman said:

Brave man this OP, or he doesn't know Thailand, or he has over 10 million Baht to waste.  

Really? I have made over 5 million thanks to AOT and CPN (stocks) in the past 10 years. I think Thailand has been very generous to me so far. Being such a bigot won't do you any favor in Thailand. 

Just now, thedemon said:

You can apply under the investment category but you still need to have been working and paying sufficient tax for 3 full tax years, with the same conditions as applying under the employment category. Therefore it is a pointless category.

but 

That is why you won't find many (any?) reports of successful applications under investment despite various law firm websites claiming that it is possible.

I think the investment category is different. That's why I'm investigating it. You probably don't need a WP but instead a BIO approved investment. 

2 minutes ago, Lacrimas said:

Really? I have made over 5 million thanks to AOT and CPN (stocks) in the past 10 years. I think Thailand has been very generous to me so far. Being such a bigot won't do you any favor in Thailand. 

sorry, didn't mean to upset the rich and well heeled among us. Well done to you, but I would rather keep my investments, small though they obviously are in compassion to yours, off shore and in a safe haven. 

2 minutes ago, Pilotman said:

sorry, didn't mean to upset the rich and well heeled among us. Well done to you, but I would rather keep my investments, small though they obviously are in compassion to yours, off shore and in a safe haven. 

Safe heaven, where? In the mighty USA? Waiting for the next 2008 with people jumping from Wall Street windows. Nowhere is safe, mate, but Thailand is much better than many other 'civilized' countries.

10 minutes ago, Lacrimas said:

I think the investment category is different. That's why I'm investigating it. You probably don't need a WP but instead a BIO approved investment. 

Wishful thinking I am afraid. It has nothing to do with the BOI and indeed you do need to hold a work permit.

43 minutes ago, Lacrimas said:

What's the procedure?

See page 7 here. Permanent Residency Requirements June 2019.pdf

 

2 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

See page 7 here. Permanent Residency Requirements June 2019.pdf

 

That's great, thanks Joe

25 minutes ago, thedemon said:

You can apply under the investment category but you still need to have been working and paying sufficient tax for 3 full tax years, with the same conditions as applying under the employment category. Therefore it is a pointless category.

 

That is why you won't find many (any?) reports of successful applications under investment despite various law firm websites claiming that it is possible.

 

I don't think that is correct.

 

As I read it you do not need to be employed at all (why would you?). You need to be here on a non-Imm visa for at least 3 consecutive years and invest at least 10 million baht in one of specified types of investment.

 

If you have been working here then you have to show records proving you paid tax but if you were for example retired here I do not think that disqualifies you.

 

What I have absolutely no idea of, is likelihood of receiving PR in that category. I know that there are quotas each year and that other categories are very difficult i.e. it is not just a matter of meeting the qualifications.

 

I would be interested in knowing this, if anyone does. Not something I can afford to do now but possibly in future especially if baht devalues. And with the recent changes in Imm rules PR does seem like an attractive route.

 

 

35 minutes ago, thedemon said:

You can apply under the investment category but you still need to have been working and paying sufficient tax for 3 full tax years, with the same conditions as applying under the employment category. Therefore it is a pointless category.

 

That is why you won't find many (any?) reports of successful applications under investment despite various law firm websites claiming that it is possible.

There used to be a way where you simply brought in money, and got PR for it..

 

Agreed if it has the same employment requirements its sort of useless useless from a PR point of view. 

 

BTW the same guy who had PR claimed he owned his land which his villa was one.. 

 

He wasnt the most clued up, and often didnt get his terms correct, so I never actually verified that myself. 

25 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

 

I don't think that is correct.

 

As I read it you do not need to be employed at all (why would you?). You need to be here on a non-Imm visa for at least 3 consecutive years and invest at least 10 million baht in one of specified types of investment.

 

If you have been working here then you have to show records proving you paid tax but if you were for example retired here I do not think that disqualifies you.

 

What I have absolutely no idea of, is likelihood of receiving PR in that category. I know that there are quotas each year and that other categories are very difficult i.e. it is not just a matter of meeting the qualifications.

 

I would be interested in knowing this, if anyone does. Not something I can afford to do now but possibly in future especially if baht devalues. And with the recent changes in Imm rules PR does seem like an attractive route.

 

 

My exact same thoughts. The documentation also doesn't mention work permit but paid taxes which come from your investment during the 3 years probation period.

18 minutes ago, LivinLOS said:

BTW the same guy who had PR claimed he owned his land which his villa was one.. 

 

He wasnt the most clued up, and often didnt get his terms correct, so I never actually verified that myself. 

There's also one guy on Facebook that mentioned having PR thanks to his real estate investments so I think it is easier than we think. Maybe with a very good lawyer it is doable.

1 hour ago, Pilotman said:

Brave man this OP, or he doesn't know Thailand, or he has over 10 million Baht to waste.  

Or perhaps he knows Thailand better than you do.

https://www.investasian.com/2018/12/15/thai-property-investment-visa/

Why not just go for Elite Visa and invest the rest in something relatively solid? Or, if you are old enough, park 800,000 Baht in a bank and go for the retirement option?

 

Trying to work out what the advantage of PR via investment is? 

1 hour ago, Lacrimas said:

Safe heaven, where? In the mighty USA? Waiting for the next 2008 with people jumping from Wall Street windows. Nowhere is safe, mate, but Thailand is much better than many other 'civilized' countries.

Exactly. 

14 minutes ago, AlexRich said:

Why not just go for Elite Visa and invest the rest in something relatively solid? Or, if you are old enough, park 800,000 Baht in a bank and go for the retirement option?

 

Trying to work out what the advantage of PR via investment is? 

Elite vs Investment:

 

With one you get a very limited amount of time and your payment of 100k THB per year is down the drain.

With the other you get permanent / unlimited time and if you are not totally dumb you can get more than 100k THB profit out of it and then can use your funds after a few years.

 

Retirement: rules and requirements change and of course you have to be over 50 which many are not.

3 hours ago, Lacrimas said:

Safe heaven, where? In the mighty USA? Waiting for the next 2008 with people jumping from Wall Street windows. Nowhere is safe, mate, but Thailand is much better than many other 'civilized' countries.

I could tell you, but then I would have to kill you. ????

1 hour ago, AlexRich said:

Why not just go for Elite Visa and invest the rest in something relatively solid? Or, if you are old enough, park 800,000 Baht in a bank and go for the retirement option?

 

Trying to work out what the advantage of PR via investment is? 

Because the Elite Visa is money wasted. An investment is an intelligent move if done well.

1 hour ago, eisfeld said:

Elite vs Investment:

 

With one you get a very limited amount of time and your payment of 100k THB per year is down the drain.

With the other you get permanent / unlimited time and if you are not totally dumb you can get more than 100k THB profit out of it and then can use your funds after a few years.

 

Retirement: rules and requirements change and of course you have to be over 50 which many are not.

100% true

4 hours ago, Lacrimas said:

Really? I have made over 5 million thanks to AOT and CPN (stocks) in the past 10 years. I think Thailand has been very generous to me so far. Being such a bigot won't do you any favor in Thailand. 

Ditto. Made a small fortune here over the years. Enough to not have to work ever again when we move next year. 
 

The problem comes from people who foolishly invest and waste their money. Those same people would lose their money anywhere. 

1 hour ago, Lacrimas said:

100% true

 

3 hours ago, eisfeld said:

Elite vs Investment:

 

With one you get a very limited amount of time and your payment of 100k THB per year is down the drain.

With the other you get permanent / unlimited time and if you are not totally dumb you can get more than 100k THB profit out of it and then can use your funds after a few years.

 

Retirement: rules and requirements change and of course you have to be over 50 which many are not.

If you get a 20 year visa that's 1,000,000 THB for 20 years which breaks down to 50,000 THB a year. It's a big upfront commitment but on a yearly basis it's a reasonable cost IMO.

1 hour ago, dcnx said:

Ditto. Made a small fortune here over the years. Enough to not have to work ever again when we move next year. 
 

The problem comes from people who foolishly invest and waste their money. Those same people would lose their money anywhere. 

I made my money from XRP and bitcoin.

But I had to work as a teacher for 5 miserable  years earning 40k a month just to qualify for citizenship.

4 hours ago, AlexRich said:

Why not just go for Elite Visa and invest the rest in something relatively solid? Or, if you are old enough, park 800,000 Baht in a bank and go for the retirement option?

 

Trying to work out what the advantage of PR via investment is? 

With PR, you can get citizenship.

16 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

With PR, you can get citizenship.

A good reason not to want it ... lol.

 

Thank you to the people who answered my query. Next question:

 

For PR rules what constitutes and investment? Does it have to be an established business or would shares in listed companies on the Thai stock market count? And if the answer to the latter question is "yes", then can you buy and sell as long as you maintain 10,000,000 in investible funds. And finally how easy is it to move funds out of Thailand?

 

I'd be interested to hear from someone actually doing this.